title: Electrooptic jumps in natural helicoidal photonic bandgap structures.
abstract: Strong electro mechanical effect was used to generate and study self adaptation and pitch jumps in a helicoidal photonic bandgap structure naturally formed by a cholesteric liquid crystal. The negative dielectric anisotropy of the material allowed its stabilization by the electric field and important thickness changes, achieved thanks to the use of a very thin substrate, allowed the observation of multiple dynamic jumps at fixed deformation conditions. Spectral and morphological studies of the material during those jumps were performed too.
authors.affiliation: Center for Optics, Photonics and Laser, Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Optics, Laval University, Pav. d'Optique-Photonique, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Allahverdyan
authors.forename: Tigran
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Galstian
mesh_terms: D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D008027:Light; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D013314:Stress, Mechanical